The reasons? Injuries, the rule preventing pitchers to compete if they pitched on the Sunday before the All-Star game or "mental health days". On Sunday, union chief Michael Weiner stood by the players that had to drop out of the Midsummer Classic.
"I think what you're seeing this year is just a bunch of individual circumstances that have added up," Weiner told ESPN.com before Sunday's Futures Game. "I think players understand the importance of the All-Star Game to the fans. They understand the honor it is to participate in the All-Star Game. By and large, I think players are excited to participate in the game. I just think we happened to have a series of circumstances this year, including a lot of Sunday starters, that have led to this situation."
That might be so. Yet, considering those "individual circumstances", only four of the players to drop out of the game are actually on the disabled list.
Below is a list of the players who bowed out of the game, and the players that replaced them.
American League
Justin Verlander (pitched Sunday) — Michael Pineda
Felix Hernandez (pitched Sunday) — Jon Lester (Injury) — Ricky Romero
James Shields (pitched Sunday) — CC Sabathia (pitched Sunday)– Alexi Ogando
David Price (Injury) — David Robertson
Mariano Rivera (Injury) — Jordan Walden
Derek Jeter (Injury) — Jhonny Peralta
Alex Rodriguez (Injury) — Kevin Youkilis
National League
Cole Hamels (pitched Sunday) — Kevin Correia
Matt Cain (pitched Sunday) — Craig Kimbrel
Jose Reyes (Injury) — Pablo Sandoval
Placido Polanco (Injury) — Miguel Montero
Shane Victorino (Injury) — Andre Ethier
Chipper Jones (Injury) — Scott Rolen
Ryan Braun (Injury) — Andrew McCutchen
